


How It Happened

by HaroThar



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: F/F, Girls with crushes, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Origin Story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-19 12:40:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20209891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HaroThar/pseuds/HaroThar
Summary: A story of finding each other and coming together. And maybe, just maybe, getting together





	1. Chapter 1

Zack’s eyes didn’t leave the TV screen when Ivy came into their shared room. She set her bag near the door with a soft thud, and she watched her brother thumb deftly over the buttons while her textbook for mechanical engineering flopped out of her bag onto the wood floor.

Left, left left, up x x left, swirl toggle xleftxleft.

“Dropped out today,” Zack said. He wasn’t blinking, and probably wouldn’t remember to blink until his eyes were red and raw from staring at the screen.

“Good riddance,” Ivy said honestly, “that place wasn’t meant for you.”

She meant it. And honestly, she couldn’t care less about Zack’s incompatibility with the public school system.

_If you two are twins, why are you in college and he’s in high school?_

“I know we thought it’d be fun, me havin’ it all bookended-like. Failed kindergarten. Failed senior year. Seems a shame to ruin it by addin’ a dropout to the end of it.”

Ivy knew that even though she didn’t care that Zack wasn’t good in school, that she was turning in year old projects for easy-A’s in college classes she shouldn’t have any right to enroll in just yet while he couldn’t make it through a single day of high school without some kind of “behavioral issue,” that didn’t mean _Zack_ didn’t care. That he was failing something “everybody” should be able to do. That she was so smart and good at stuff and brilliant while he was the dumb black sheep of the family.

“How’d you get the parents to agree to it?” Ivy asked as she sat down at her desk, gears and wires and tiny, easily-lost metal bits littering the surface. Her current project was a grappling hook that would attach to the inside of the wearer’s sleeve, and adjust to their size, distributing the force of the grapple through the whole arm and shoulder, rather than yanking someone’s wrist out of their socket.

Zack snorted at her joke. They both knew their parents had no idea Zack had dropped out, and that all the paperwork was forged. Zack was excellent at forgery. Excellent at anything that took intense focus, unwavering hands, and a detailed eye. So naturally, naturally, naturally, it was just because Zack was a lazy goof, that he kept failing school, and not because the system was specifically designed to break people like him.

Ivy was glad; he decided to get out of there _before_ it could break him.

“You gonna tell Dad?”

“Are you gonna if I don’t?” Zack asked, looking away from the screen, just a glance, for the first time in what was likely hours.

“Course not.”

Zack nodded, turning back to his game. Even though his eyes hadn’t been on it, his clever fingers hadn’t missed a single beat, his score still perfect, 100%.

Ivy opened her laptop—twice as large as the factory had made it, decked out and updated with her creations—and flipped a stark white baseball cap onto her head. It wasn’t particularly fitting for someone who was supposed to be a fan of the Boston Red Sox, but well, she didn’t care that much for sports.

Hey Vine

Hey Player, any good news today?

Are you in need of some?

Ivy thought about that.

Yes and no. It’s been a good day. Classes went well, my professor FLIPPED over that red drone I made however long ago. My brother gave me some good news

But

He’s not particularly happy about it. I am, but he’s not, and it’s hard to be happy about something that’s makin’ him upset y’know?

I understand that. Hey, he’s still good at driving, yeah?

If it runs, he can steer it. Ivy sent proudly.

And you’re looking for an excuse to get out of the house and go on an adventure?

…I never said anything of the like

But you’re not against the idea?

Player, what’s your game?

You’re our gadget girl. And I’ve got a friend who could use an outfitter and a getaway car.

Your mystery girlfriend? Ivy teased.

Mystery BEST friend. Not girlfriend. Best. I think you’ll like her. She’s up here with me right now, just handed me a huge giant enormous big cache of information I’m working on decoding. The encryption on this thing is the craziest I’ve ever seen.

Must be impressive, if you’re praisin’ it.

Oh it is. So, you in? Feel like traveling the world, actually putting those gadgets to use?

Ivy turned, just a little, and looked at her brother. Near as she could tell, he hadn’t blinked since she came in the room. He hated it here, more than she did. Tiny apartment with loud parents too stressed from their lives to really _love_ their kids, school system that made him feel stupid and useless, familiar town and crowded streets when his favorite speed was _fast_ and his favorite place was _away._

We’re in.

—

“Told you they’d be down. I think Vine’s brother owns a car. I think. Or we could use some of these sweet sweet V.I.L.E. funds to give him a little thank you for playing chauffeur.”

“I’m down for that,” Carmen said. “Hey, how do you think I would look if I grew my hair out?”

“Like you, but with long hair.” Player spun around in his chair and Carmen looked at him with a grin, then turned back to the mirror.

“I think I’d like to look like me, with long hair.”

“Go for it,” Player kicked his feet up and leaned back, white baseball cap tipping forward as he crossed his arms behind his head. “We should also upgrade my rig. I don’t know if I have the processing power to decrypt this thing _and_ do other things at the same time.

“Go for it,” Carmen echoed back at him. She approached his desk and leaned past him, eyes on his screen. “So, I’m going to Boston.”

—

Ivy didn’t know what she’d been expecting with Player’s mystery not-girlfriend. Probably someone with the general physique of the white hat hackers. They lived their lives in front of their computers. Ivy knew they tended to range from cute and fat (like herself) to unwashed and obese.

This person was not unwashed and obese. This person was not cute and fat. This person was hot and _ripped._ Just totally and completely _shredded._ She looked like she’d been sparring with bears since she was in diapers. She looked like she could climb a rock wall one-handed. She looked like she could run a mile in three minutes. She looked like she could kick Ivy’s _ass._

“Hi, I’m Carmen. Carmen Sandiego.”

—

YOU DIDN’T TELL ME SHE WAS HOT


	2. Chapter 2

“Aw, Carm, this is a _beauty,”_ Zack praised, running his hand affectionately over the dashboard. “Listen to her purr.”

“Why are all your cars girls?” Ivy asked disdainfully, hiding her pleasure at seeing Zack so _excited_ again. So genuinely happy.

“Because I love women and I love cars—and I also love boats and planes, and trains, and motorcycles, and…”

“I’m glad you like it,” Carmen said, getting in. “We need a quiet car for quiet getaways. Can’t leave a noisy car running at the ready.”

“This is gonna be so great,” Zack said, hugging the steering wheel like a long lost lover, “This is already so great.”

Ivy rolled her eyes.

“So,” Carmen said, sitting next to Ivy in the backseat, immediately grabbing all of her attention and making the space seem so much smaller, “tell me about yourself, partner.”

Ivy felt her heart leap into her throat.

“Well, I’m from Boston,” she started, trying to make herself sound as casual and natural as if she were meeting a normal, regular human being, not the (muscle muscle muscle HOT GIRL muscle pretty) partner-in-crime of her dreams, “born and raised, haven’t gotten out much. Enrolled in the toughest undergraduates my college had to offer for my major last year and breezed through ‘em so fast I took nothing but graduate courses this last semester and a half.” She didn’t normally feel any particular need to brag, but, well, she really wanted to impress this woman who’d been raised from infancy to be a thief and special operative. “Make gadgets. Joined the white hat hackers for something to do and ended up gettin’ invested.”

“They’ve got a certain allure,” Carmen agreed, nodding. Ivy was too tongue tied to make any kind of slip about the other _alluring_ component of her very current situation.

Underneath them, the car purred just a little louder, and Ivy realized that it had been accelerating smoothly, seamlessly, without her even noticing. The scenery was _rocketing_ past them.

“Zack, I don’t think we should get caught by _police_ this early in the game,” she said, just a tiny bit irritated.

“Relax, Ivy, we’re in the middle of nowhere! Where are the cops gonna be in the Midwest? Hiding in a corn field?”

“Most major cities in Midwestern America do have state patrols on the interstate not far out from city limits, precisely to catch people who share that mindset,” Carmen informed Zack, oozing that well-earned, deceptively simple confidence that Ivy _knew_ was deserved. “And while it’s known for corn, a large number of farmers grow soybeans as well, which can be chocolate coated and eaten like candy, harvested for oil for biodiesel fuel, and can even be turned into crayons.”

Ivy stared at Carmen, rapt.

“The Midwest is often referred to as ‘tornado alley,’ or its more traditional moniker, ‘The Great Plains.’ The plainlands are notorious for their green, electric skies that foretell tornadoes, and also have some pretty stark shifts through seasonal changes. Though, no one ever seems to think that spring lasts long enough.”

“Well aren’t you just a walkin’ geography book,” Zack said, sounding about as stunned as Ivy felt, and the car slowed a little.

“Thanks. But Zack is also right. This far from the city, nobody with a badge is going to see us until we hit the next small town.”

There was a beat, and then Ivy heard the engine rev, climbing speeds with renewed vigor. “Awwww yeaaaah!” Zack crowed.

Carmen turned back to Ivy, and she kinda hoped she wasn’t blushing as hot as she felt like she was blushing. Carmen was an ocean. Ivy didn’t get to see much change on the surface, but there was a deep power and awe-inspiring quality to Carmen that lied just beneath, so close to the surface Ivy could practically feel it thrum. She wondered what it would be like to see Carmen _storm._

She was staring, oops, uh, conversation, normal-people talk!

“So, tell me about you,” Ivy choked a little on the word, “partner.”

Carmen arched a single eyebrow and Ivy internally bemoaned how it wasn’t _fair._ She could never make her face do that! “I thought Player already debriefed you.”

“He gave me the basics,” Ivy nudged Carmen’s shin with her sneaker, like she would any other casual, regular-friend acquaintance. “I wanna hear from you.”

“It’s gonna have to wait,” Zack warned from the driver’s seat, “according to Player’s GPS, we’re gettin’ close.”

Far off, a semi truck was just becoming visible. Carmen nodded with determination, brown eyes locked on the distant figure.

“According to our intel, V.I.L.E. has probably already stolen the pipe. It’s an important relic that dates back centuries, and V.I.L.E. knows it’s a sacred part of Oglala Lakota culture. Plenty of shady museums are willing to pay a hefty price for the stolen artifacts of Native cultures. We’re going to make sure it gets back where it belongs.”

Ivy felt something electric in her pulse—and for once it wasn’t attraction to this pretty lady. It was something bigger, faster, far more exciting. Like the buzz of working with Zack to get into mischief, but amplified, nameless.

“Right,” she agreed, with a passion she was surprised to feel. They all activated their comms—tiny, closed-route devices Ivy made that linked them all to Player and each other—and got ready.

Zack slowed as they got to the semi, and Carmen leapt deftly through the open top of the car onto the hood. Zack kept a steady pace, bumper to bumper despite moving down the interstate, and Carmen fastened one of Ivy’s gadgets to the lock. The door of the truck swung open and—

Carmen had dodged and blocked before either of the twins had registered there were assailants inside. Deftly, competently, confidently, Carmen jumped into the metal cavity and punched an operative straight in the nose.

“Really, it’s like none of you remember to protect the face,” Carmen said as she dropped low to avoid a punch and then slammed the underside of her aggressor’s chin. “Coach Brunt gives very good advice. You should listen.” Ivy distantly noted that the audio quality of their comms was perfect, exactly what she’d hoped.

Ivy watched Carmen move like Zack watched his video games. Utterly immersed, not wanting to even blink. There was _fire_ in her gut, _sparks_ inside her veins, a drumming noise inside her head that swelled in her lungs and threatened to burst from her ribcage.

Then someone got an arm around Carmen’s neck and Ivy knew, instinctively, in her very bones, what she needed to do. She pulled the grappling hook from her bag and leapt into the passenger seat, one foot propped on the rim of the windshield as she attached the hook.

“What are—Ivy, Ivy you haven’t tested that yet!”

“Perfect time then, eh?” Ivy asked, barely hearing her brother over the thrum in her skull and veins. She aimed while one of the operatives picked himself up off the floor, grabbing a baton while Carmen struggled against the arm pressed to her windpipe.

_“Not_ a perfect time! Now is not the—“

With a click and a woosh and a surge forward off the windshield, Ivy was airborne. She kicked her legs out hard and planted her feet right into the fellow with the baton, cushioning her landing but knocking him out cold. And maybe breaking a rib. Who knew—who _cared?_

“Hiya!” Ivy screamed as she rounded on the other man who—who was. Not standing anymore. Carmen stood, like she hadn’t been choked or bothered at all, and Ivy felt just a tiny bit silly for her shout but mostly she felt alight with something that could’ve been adrenaline.

“Nice gadget,” Carmen praised, and Ivy grinned, heady with their seeming victory.

A booming noise and blue light from the open door grabbed their attention, and the truck gained speed like it was a bullet train.

“That’s Dr. Bellum’s nitro,” Carmen informed swiftly, scooping Ivy up in her arms, “We’d better bounce.”

Carmen leapt, Ivy in her arms like a princess in the embrace of a valiant knight, from the semi’s open door into the open top of the car that was just barely still close enough for them to make the jump. Carmen shoved Ivy down as they landed, so that she bounced into the seat, head knocking against the headrest, and Ivy held onto Carmen, keeping her body from rocketing into the metal rim of the roof (or worse, toppling over it). Carmen and Ivy were both breathing hard, eyes locked as Carmen flopped into the seat, and they shared twin grins as Zack slowed the car and took off down a highway, branching from the interstate into the endless, gentle hills of the plains.

“That was great,” Carmen told Ivy as she pulled the pipe from her red coat, grinning triumphantly, “especially for a rookie.”

Ivy laughed and punched Carmen playfully in the shoulder, still high off whatever this was. “That was _amazing._ Zack, Zack, we are _never_ going back to Boston.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice!” Zack crowed as well, “I mean, unless there’s a caper there.”

“I will allow one excuse for Boston capers. Oh my god!” Ivy said, laughing again, flopping bonelessly in the backseat as the adrenaline crashed. “That was so cool.”

“Yeah,” Carmen said, sounding pleased.

—

Player you ain’t gonna BELIEVE what happened today!

Is it that Red swept you up in her arms and jumped from the back of a moving vehicle? Or that you discovered your passion for benevolent crime that was latent inside you all along?

SHE’S SO STRONG!

Yeah, Red already told me about it. Glad the first caper went well. It’s always nice to get off to a good start

She picked me up like it was NOTHIN’. Do I even weigh anythin’ to her?

It’s probably like lifting grapes or something

Player oh my god what have you done? How am I supposed to survive this?

You’re welcome

On a more serious note, yes I did discover my love of crime and theft and kicking dudes really really hard and you were absolutely right about me wantin’ to go on an adventure; how’d you know?

Eh, some wishful thinking and a lucky guess

I’m gonna go pass out now.

Make sure you hydrate

That goes double for you, cave goblin.

—

HER SKIN WAS SO SOFT

There there, Red

PLAYER SHE SMELLED SO GOOD

It’ll be okay; you’ll get through this

She hadn’t tested it yet! She risked her life specifically to come help me!

It was very cash money of her

Did I tell you about how she counterbalanced me so I didn’t crack a rib or go over the rim?

You did

She doesn’t have any training, Player. She just DID THAT! For me!

Mmhhmm

Player I think I have a crush

I think so too

Help I‘ve never had a crush before

You liar

Well okay yeah I’ve had crushes before but never when I could actually DO anything about it! I was always ‘that island kid’ to all the people I had crushes on, and by the time I was finally old enough to maybe date one of the students there weren’t any options.

Mhm

El Topo and Le Chèvre have been an item since practically always, Mime Bomb was just… no, Tigress hated my guts, and Crackle was basically the brother I’d always wanted.

Yeah

Wait, what if that’s it? Ivy is the first real option I’ve ever had, so my brain is going haywire and overreacting.

What do you feel about Zack?

…

,’:)

I like him, and he’s attractive, in the way that humans are attractive, but he’s not very attractive to me.

Mhm

I have a crush on Ivy.

Yes

Player what do I do?

Well, my mom says all good relationships are built on the solid foundation of good friendships. Start there

So focus on being her friend and not the dumb complicated feelings that are dumb and complicated, got it.

I wouldn’t ignore them entirely. It’s normal to have crushes, and most people see them as a good thing. Just don’t let it be the ONLY thing, you know?

Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense.

I always make sense, you should listen to me because I’m always right.

Haha

I am a font of wisdom, don’t play

Yeah. Hey, Player?

Red

Thanks. Talking to you always makes me feel grounded.

Hey, what are besties for?


	3. Chapter 3

They were on a beach, and Carmen was discovering that beaches could be fun places, rather than just. A part of the scenery. She hadn’t really, over the course of growing up on the island, viewed the sand as anything more than, say, grass, or bushes, but Ivy and Zack seemed to find plenty of ways to make the sand fun, and Carmen valued that. The waters of the lake were different from the ocean, too. Carmen was pretty sure that the lake wasn’t a sentient thing, and she’d always had her doubts about a lack of sapience regarding the ocean. The ocean was kind of like Coach Brunt, in her mind. A mother, a protector, but deeply, terrifyingly powerful too. Not to be disrespected, but something to be loved.

She kind of missed it.

Zack had Ivy in a headlock, the two wrestling with a familiarity that left the struggle going on and on and on, not wanting to _hurt_ but unwilling to lose. They were loud, and Carmen reached up to her hair—shoulder-length and growing fast—and twirled a lock around her finger. Crackle had done that with her, a few times. Strong and familiar arms, but she was crafty, she always won.__

_ _Ivy threw Zack in the water with a triumphant yell and turned, arms raised, to Carmen, who smiled briefly back. Ivy cocked her head and jogged over, Zack surfacing and spluttering behind her._ _

_ _“Hey boss,” Ivy said, a joke nickname that had accidentally stuck (though not as much an accident as a game of one-upmanship between the twins that had run long enough it didn’t go away). “You good?”_ _

_ _“Yeah. Just thinking it must be nice, having your brother here.”_ _

_ _“Eh, brothers are overrated,” Ivy said, flopping down on her own towel, next to Carmen’s. “They smell bad and chew loudly and never shut up.”_ _

_ _“Yeah,” Carmen said, smiling a little more genuinely now. “That sounds pretty accurate.” There was a lump in her throat._ _

_ _“…Carmen,” Ivy said, softer, losing all the boisterous confidence, “what’s your family like? Thinkin’ of it, I’ve known you a couple months now but we’ve never really talked about,” Ivy made a vague hand gesture, and Carmen shrugged._ _

_ _“I didn’t want to ask about yours. I got the gist that you don’t really like them,” Carmen said._ _

_ _“Eh, they’re not so bad. Just not all that good either. Not the kinda people who shoulda had kids.” Ivy shrugged. “Zack and I have each other, and that’s all that matters.”_ _

_ _“I thought brothers were overrated?”_ _

_ _“And I _do_ stand by that,” Ivy asserted. “But, you’re missin’ yours?”_ _

_ _Carmen wondered if she could continue trying to redirect the conversation, or if she should just take her dignity while she still had it and answer the question already._ _

_ _“Yeah. His name’s Crackle—his codename, anyway. Agents don’t really use their names from before, once they get their codename.”_ _

_ _“Cool codename,” Ivy offered, knees half raised and an elbow propped on them, body language clearly showing that she was attentive._ _

_ _“Yeah. He was cool. Is cool. I mean, he smelled bad, and sometimes he would laugh or talk with his mouth full and little bits would go flying everywhere, and he never shut up,” Carmen tugged a little harder on the lock of hair she had twisted around her finger, “but he’s a _great_ guy. I always wanted siblings, growing up on the island, and when he showed up it just… he was everything I ever wanted. Annoying parts and all.”_ _

_ _“And when you left V.I.L.E., he stayed,” Ivy finished for Carmen, understanding in her voice._ _

_ _Carmen nodded. “And I just know, if I can get the chance to talk to him, and explain things from my point of view, he’d listen. I know he’d understand—join us, even.” Carmen’s voice was steady, but her emotions were not, the twist of hair around her fingers tight enough to cut off circulation. “He’s a good person, and I’m sure he’d love the white hat hackers.”_ _

_ _“Yeah,” Ivy said, “maybe we’ll bump into him on a caper sometime and you’ll get the chance to talk some sense into him.”_ _

_ _Carmen smiled. “Yeah. It’d be nice.”_ _

_ _“And until then,” Ivy said, standing up, “I’ve got enough brother to go around. We can share.” She grinned down at Carmen and Carmen’s heart leapt._ _

_ _“If we get married, he’ll really be my brother,” Carmen mentioned, the sensible part of her brain apparently shutting down at Ivy’s pretty smile and sudden height and the cute swimsuit Carmen was paying attention to again._ _

_ _Ivy laughed, an endlessly gorgeous sound that Carmen hoped she’d never get used to, and kicked a little sand at Carmen. “Yeah right, like _you’d_ ever leave that kind of paper trail.”_ _

_ _“We can elope, then,” Carmen continued, trying to pass it off as a joke. Ivy’s cheeks were so cute when she blushed. Carmen wanted to tease her all the time. Carmen wanted her to take the teasing seriously._ _

_ _“Mmm, I’ll consider it,” Ivy said with a wink, and Carmen twirled the hair around her finger loosely, coyly, her red lower lip caught between her teeth._ _

**Author's Note:**

> This fic gets written as inspiration strikes, so if you ever want to drop a suggestion or idea my way, I'm open to it


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